Denver Completes Sweep of the West Finals
LeBron James scored 31 points in the first half of Game Four of the Western Conference Finals, the most he’s ever scored in a half in his postseason career. It didn’t matter in the end.
Nikola Jokic surpassed Wilt Chamberlain’s mark for most triple-doubles in a postseason with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, sealing the Nuggets’ first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.
Jokic’s lay-up with 51.1 seconds remaining put Denver up for good as Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray put the clamps on the King on his last second shot attempt to close things out.
More Than Enough Firepower
Throughout the series, the Nuggets’ firepower was more than the Lakers could handle.
Jamal Murray, who scored 37 points twice in the series, finished with 25 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a block in 43 minutes. Aaron Gordon then added 22 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two blocks as he and Jokic were in sync all night long.
Not to be outdone, Michael Porter Jr. had another double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds, while Kentavious Cardwell-Pope finished with 13 points.
The Nuggets used a 36-16 third quarter to erase a double-digit deficit in the first half. Denver shot 48.2% from the field with four more threes than the home team. And even though the Nuggets had more turnovers (11-6), Denver scored more points off the Lakers’ miscues (17-7).
Another Meltdown in Hollywood
The Lakers couldn’t maintain their momentum after a 21-point first quarter from LeBron James. They led by as much as 15 points but when the third quarter came along, things went south in a hurry for the Purple and Gold.
LeBron James finished his 20th season in the league with 40 points, ten rebounds, nine assists, and two steals in 48 minutes. Anthony Davis added 21 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, but his low usage was the source of debate following the game as some argued that it ultimately led to LeBron tiring down the stretch.
Austin Reaves finished his first playoff run with 17 points, while Dennis Schroder had 13 points as a starter. Rui Hachimura added ten points and seven rebounds while doing his best to contain the force of nature that was Nikola Jokic.
Lakers Head Coach Darvin Ham had D’Angelo Russell come off the bench but the gamble didn’t matter. Russell finished with four points in 15 minutes. He averaged a paltry 6.3 points for the series on a woeful 13.3% shooting from the three-point line.
The Lakers scored more points in the paint (62-48) but couldn’t withstand the pick and roll game of Jokic and Murray. In the end, the dynamic duo proved to be a problem even the brilliant basketball mind of LeBron James couldn’t solve.
Still a Good Season for LA
While the Lakers failed to win a game in the Western Conference Finals, few thought they would even reach the playoffs in 2023, especially after a 2-10 start to the regular season.
After hovering outside the playoff picture for most of the season’s first half, plus a Russell Westbrook trade dilemma hanging over Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers turned things around, starting with a wide array of trades last February that landed them Rui Hachimura, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, Jarred Vanderbilt, and D’Angelo Russell.
More importantly, both LeBron and AD remained healthy for the final stretch of the season- leading the team through the play-in tournament, and series against the Memphis Grizzlies, and Golden State Warriors.
While beating a balanced and healthy Denver Nuggets squad proved to be an impossibility for the Lakers, Darvin Ham and company deserve full marks for making it as far as they did following their brutal start to the year.
With the season now in the rearview mirror for LA, expect a full summer of “Kyrie to Los Angeles?” talk to kick into high gear as the team hopes to reload for another run this fall.
-Iggy Gonzales